[alansmurphy]

A recent helmet replacement had me looking at the Giro range and a few people in the know were promoting the virtues of MIPS. At a mere £10 difference, I took the plunge.

On studying my new helmet, great fit, looks OK and reasonable cost et al. I was hugely surprised at how much MIPS there isn’t. It looked like a bit of additional packaging.

Anyone else surprised, lord knows how it does what it is meant to do…

Topic

[Simon E]

Just read this in a review of

Just read this in a review of a new Bontrager MIPS helmet:

“Whether MIPS actually works seems up for debate (Bontrager has internal data it isn’t willing to release) but it’s rapidly become a must-have feature in the eyes of safety-minded consumers”

No real evidence that it actually works yet people will pay extra for it.

I can see a gap in the market for MIPS crucifixes and MIPS bracelets for people to protect themselves from harm. Fools.

[ktache]

When I purchased my first

When I purchased my first helmet, 25 years ago, it was to the ANSI/Snell standard.  The standards were lessened with the introduction of the CE standard.

[Simon E]

kieren_lon wrote:

kieren_lon wrote:

All certified helmets are deemed safe enough so uninformed choice is with the buyer. 

All helmets in a particular country must meet the agreed standard. They’re not “safe” or “unsafe”, they are simply engineered to pass a test. Standards vary, see http://www.helmets.org/

Adoption of helmet laws has not resulted in reduced incidence of head injuries in cyclists. Data collected in New Zealand shows no correlation between helmet wearing rates and head injury rates.

kieren_lon wrote:

It would be nice to know when a model has gone above and beyond the required tests.  Most of us don’t like a mushroom head helmet but if it was rated ugly, but 10%, 20%, 30% better there migth likely be a tipping point for some purchasers

IIRC 10 years ago Bell cycle helmets were certified to the American CPSC standard, a more demanding test than the European standard. They probably are still but I haven’t checked. However, I doubt that this would make much odds in an impact in the real world.

To make a helmet pass significantly tougher tests it would have to be bigger and heavier. Apart from negatively affecting comfort and ventilation, both of those bring increased injury risks.

[kieren_lon]

My last Bontrager Specter

My last Bontrager Specter helmet collided with the curb at 36kph.   The helmet took the impact and I am happy to still be here.   4 days of neural observation due to a small bleed and then about 10 weeks of PCS symtoms to deal with.  On the scale of things, a minor incoveince. Others can and have come out far worse

Although a helmet can stop your skull smashing open on concrete, it does nothing to stop your brain slamming up against your skull which is what happened to me.   MIPS is unproven but promises to that by giving a slight slip.  Our scap is designed to do this also.   I don’t know if it works but it might and I’d pay for that hope to recover faster.  I welcome the innovation.

That said,  I think a beanie under your helment kind of works as a poor-mans MIPS going on the theory that it emulates the scalp slip.  

My new helmet is not MIPS.  I picked up a BTWIN 900 for £40.  No idea how it rates.  I hope I never have to find out again.

Another thing with helmets is that you can’t really beat physics.  All are certified and many made of the same foam.  You can’t make the foam softer so thicker is safer.  All certified helmets are deemed safe enough so uninformed choice is with the buyer.  Reviews never want to talk safety for liability reasons and never mention thickness.  

It would be nice to know when a model has gone above and beyond the required tests.  Most of us don’t like a mushroom head helmet but if it was rated ugly, but 10%, 20%, 30% better there migth likely be a tipping point for some purchasers

[alansmurphy]

I’m not sure everyone will

I’m not sure everyone will buy a new helmet. However after my last helmet definitely saved my life and suffered a nasty death (popcorn ready) I needed a new one. So the marketeers may have got an extra tenner out of me, or I may have got an improvement, I hope to never find out.

 

I’ll have a look online to see what it is anticipated it looks like / how it works; I expected more of a skull cap type thing…

[Simon E]

The manufacturers are pushing

The manufacturers are pushing it because they want to sell everyone a new helmet. They’re not really interested in safety.

For an independent view try http://www.bhsi.org/mips.htm

[ktache]

My MIPs helmet squeaks a bit

My MIPs helmet squeaks a bit more than my previous non MIP helmets.

I hope never to require it, but that is the whole helmet thing anyway.

POCs new SPIN system seems interesting.

[Canyon48]

I bought a Bontrager Ballista

I bought a Bontrager Ballista MIPS in a sale – it was the same price as the non MIPS verison after discount.

Having previously owned only fairly cheap bone domes/skid lids I can it is very much superior – though I think that’s due to it being a far superior helmet.

[racingcondor]

Not sure how Giro does theirs
Not sure how Giro does theirs but the idea is that the padding that is in contact with your head is decoupled from the hard shell of the helmet so twisting forces that catch the helmet aren’t transmitted to you.

My Bontrager does it well with a thin plastic skullcap that attaches to the outer shell by flexible joints. I guess I’d have a look at the difference between the MIPS and normal version.

[Author]

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